Last Visited

About yakaspat

I never purchased Cities XL, as I was completely turned off by the Planet Offer. I refuse to pay monthly fees to play games, when there are other things available I'd rather spend my hard earned cash on each month (food). So when I read that the PO is ending and MC is revamping the solo player game, I nearly shouted for joy. Like all of you, I've been a major fan of SimCity for many, many years and I even loved City Life. So, I now want to give Cities XL a whirl.
I emailed MC yesterday and asked if Cities XL 2011 literally means the game will be out next year (why name it 2011 if not)? I received a response today that says "Cities XL 2011 means the game will be out in the next few weeks and will be available on their website", and they provided me a link to their online shop.
They didn't answer my other question, though, which was "should I buy the current version or wait"....I suppose they are hoping I buy both? I don't like how they are handling that aspect of things, so, I'm going to wait and see what happens before I buy. But, "a few weeks" is good news. I wonder how accurate that description of the timeframe is? I guess we'll find out.

Originally posted by: kingdiz_55
I seem to believe that MC is doing what EA is doing with is Sims and its Expansion Packs. To me, the only reason that MC is doing this is that they're not sure how many people are going to buy the game. With that said, they're charging the people that DID buy the game. It's always about the money...quote>
I'd be okay if Monte Cristo did what EA has done with Sims3, actually. My wife plays the Sims3 and loves it. But, there is a huge difference between paying for bonus content by-the-piece and paying a flat monthly fee for essential game content. If the single player game were fully functionable, like the Sims3 is sans bonus content, and you only were expected to pay a small amount for additional building sets, that would be reasonable. With the Sims3, if you want another bedroom set of furniture, you pay a small amount (like 3 dollars) and then download the furniture set. You don't pay a monthly fee of 10 dollars to unlock essential game content. What MC has done would be the equivalent of the Sims3 missing all bedroom furniture in the single player game unless you pay a monthly charge! That's a big difference than paying for additional bonus bedroom furniture sets. Monte Cristo is taking a huge risk that is probably going to come back to bite them. I refuse to pay monthly fees to play computer games, especially for what is essentially a single-player genre.

Originally posted by: Feudal1
Are you guys actually serious? You're whining over paying $9 per month to access the online features? That's the equivalent of a couple of lunches at McDonalds. I just don't get this mentality that people want everything for free any more.quote>
No, we are not "whining over paying $9 per month" for "online features". We are reasonably stating that it is rediculous to pay, minimum, 115 dollars per year to play a city building game. The slapped-on MMO features, such as community socialization, stat tracking, and competitive/comparitive gameplay, could reasonably justify a monthly charge. I would grant that paying 4.99 per month would be appropriate for such a service. But, expecting the gaming community to pay $9 per month for essential game content, such as buildings (face it, they limited the initial building set just to sell the rest of the game in increments...you're a sucker if you think otherwise), transportation options, and key gameplay mechanics. What you are falling for is a classic marketing technique. Instead of telling you that it will cost you 115 dollars to pay their game for one year, they've sold you the idea you'll "only" pay $9 per month! If you can't see through that shameless profiteering then you deserve to lose your hard earned cash on what is essentially a dressed up single player game.
I, for one, will certainly NOT be buying Cities XL.